How do you keep this many women happy? Take them out and show them a good time!
I love this pic. It was taken on my crappy iphone with the shattered screen and I had no idea what it would look like. I'd say the smiles on their faces says it all.
Jenni on her new bike. The last time she rode with me she had a hybrid. I put her on this sweet Madone last week and she's all smiles now.
Roadies, maybe, but the mtb'rs in us can still deal with dirt too. A deralieur cage popped off mid-ride due to a stripped bolt and someone's previous quick fix. Joyce had her tools out and the surgery done by the time I had backtracked to find them.
Robin was the real winner on this ride. She's recovering from a crash that crippled her confidence. I knew she needed to put herself into situations to rebuild her foundation and help conquer her fears. Step by step and one small victory at a time, she made huge progress. In one 30 mile ride she faced some of those demons and started to trust herself again.
On the way back in, I rode up alongside Jan and told her to look around and realize what she was doing... she and Joyce were now helping to grow a new crop of women cyclists and friends. Jan had started with me three years ago a very apologetic, timid and sketchy rider. Today she is a solid, skilled cyclist and one of my truest friends in the world. She told her 'earning her wheels' story to Robin who took it as an inspiration and encouragement.
It's kind of a passing of the torch or maybe a graduation of sorts when the people that 'got' and 'learned' and 'grew' realize that they are now in the position to 'give' and 'teach' and 'nurture'. Teaching is really a two-sided gift. You give the tools that unlock ideas and you water the dreams that fuel the passion and you tend the weeds of doubt and if you're lucky and you've done your best, it all blooms into something beautiful. You don't own the bloom but you do get to sit back and enjoy it and you are very lucky, for sure, if what you grew re-seeds and starts again. And that's when you know you've done your job well.
.
I love this pic. It was taken on my crappy iphone with the shattered screen and I had no idea what it would look like. I'd say the smiles on their faces says it all.
Jenni on her new bike. The last time she rode with me she had a hybrid. I put her on this sweet Madone last week and she's all smiles now.
Roadies, maybe, but the mtb'rs in us can still deal with dirt too. A deralieur cage popped off mid-ride due to a stripped bolt and someone's previous quick fix. Joyce had her tools out and the surgery done by the time I had backtracked to find them.
Robin was the real winner on this ride. She's recovering from a crash that crippled her confidence. I knew she needed to put herself into situations to rebuild her foundation and help conquer her fears. Step by step and one small victory at a time, she made huge progress. In one 30 mile ride she faced some of those demons and started to trust herself again.
On the way back in, I rode up alongside Jan and told her to look around and realize what she was doing... she and Joyce were now helping to grow a new crop of women cyclists and friends. Jan had started with me three years ago a very apologetic, timid and sketchy rider. Today she is a solid, skilled cyclist and one of my truest friends in the world. She told her 'earning her wheels' story to Robin who took it as an inspiration and encouragement.
It's kind of a passing of the torch or maybe a graduation of sorts when the people that 'got' and 'learned' and 'grew' realize that they are now in the position to 'give' and 'teach' and 'nurture'. Teaching is really a two-sided gift. You give the tools that unlock ideas and you water the dreams that fuel the passion and you tend the weeds of doubt and if you're lucky and you've done your best, it all blooms into something beautiful. You don't own the bloom but you do get to sit back and enjoy it and you are very lucky, for sure, if what you grew re-seeds and starts again. And that's when you know you've done your job well.
.
